For
Release: February 21, 2003
FTC to Host Workshops on Role of
Technology in Helping Consumers And Businesses Protect Personal
Information
The Federal Trade Commission
will host two public one-day workshops to explore the role of
technology in helping consumers and businesses protect the
privacy of personal information, including the steps taken to
keep their information secure. The first workshop, "The Consumer
Experience," to be held Wednesday, May 14, will focus on the
technological tools available to consumers to manage and secure
their information and whether and how they are using them. The
second workshop, "The Business Experience," will be held June 4,
and will focus on how businesses use technology to manage their
information practices and provide security. The events are open
to the public and attendance is free. They will be held in the
FTC conference center at 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.
A Federal Register Notice, to
be published shortly, states that although a number of
technological products and services are available to help
consumers and businesses protect personal information, it is
unclear just how much consumers and businesses are using them
and whether they are meeting consumer and business needs in this
area. Therefore, "as more and more consumers share personal
information online and use 'always on' Internet connections, it
is useful to examine the current role that technology plays in
protecting consumers' personal information." The workshops also
will examine the changes that have been made in the security
area since the FTC's May 2002 workshop on consumer information
security.
Questions to be addressed at
Workshop One may include:
- What types of technologies
are available or under development to help consumers manage
the collection and use of their personal information?
- What technologies are
available or under development that automatically match
consumer preferences to businesses' information practices?
What is their current status of development and/or
implementation?
- What are businesses,
government agencies, and others doing to raise consumer
awareness of security issues and help create a "culture of
security?"
Questions to be addressed at
Workshop Two may include:
- What types of technologies
are available or under development to help businesses manage
their information practices and verify their Web site's
privacy policy compliance?
- Are there limits to
technology's ability to protect consumer information? What
role do people, policies, and organizational structure play in
implementing effective safeguards programs?
The FTC requests that
interested parties submit written comments on the questions to
foster greater understanding of the issues. Especially useful
are any studies, surveys, research, and empirical data. Comments
should be captioned "Technology Workshop - Comment, P034808."
Comments must be received by April 23, 2003.
Parties seeking to participate
as panelists should write to the FTC, explaining their expertise
in or knowledge of the issues on which the workshop will focus.
Requests can be sent to
techworkshop@ftc.gov or Technology Workshop - Request to
Participate, Office of the Secretary, Federal Trade Commission,
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C., 20580. Requests
must be received by March 26.
Additional information about
the workshops will be posted at
www.ftc.gov/techworkshop as it
becomes available. |